1. Technical Field of the Invention
The invention is in the general field of wind speed determination devices and methods.
2. Description of the Related Art
It is known to measure wind along a line of sight by use of the Doppler effect on radar, ladar, or acoustic signals. Wind speed in the direction along the line of sight changes the frequency of a return signal from that of an emitted signal. The magnitude of the frequency change may be used to determine the wind speed in the direction in which the signal was sent (and in which the return signal was received).
Attempts have been made to measure wind in multiple directions by sending signals in multiple directions, and using the Doppler effect to determine wind speed in each of the directions. Using the wind speed in these multiple directions a calculation can be made to approximate the wind velocity in three-dimensional space around a measuring device. However measuring devices that utilize this principle require collecting data in many directions in a very short period of time and large amounts of computing power to approximate the three-dimensional wind velocity field. Further, the results are only approximate.
From the foregoing it will be appreciated that improvements are possible in the field of wind velocity measurement.